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	GALINA PANOVA, ARTISTIC ADVISOR & COACH Educated in Parma, Russia, under the tutelage of such legendary dancers as Galina Vlanova and Natalia Dudinskaya, Galina Panova went on to capture a gold medal in the 1968 International Ballet Competition. In Varna, Bulgaria, opposite fellow Russian Mikhail Baryshnikov, a long and successful performing career ensued, which featured extensive touring and numerous television appearances including her classic virtuoso performance “Dance in America” at Wolftrap in 1975.
	PAUL HILLARD MCRAE, COSTUME DESIGNER Mr. McRae began designing costumes in 1980 for Edward Villella, Ali Poirfarrokh, George Tomal, Robert North, Elie Lazar and Johan Renvall. Mr. McRae is President of Dance/New Jersey, a board member of ArtPride, a resident teaching artist for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. He has been Assistant to the Director of New Jersey Ballet Company since 1988.
	ELENA COMENDADOR, COSTUME DESIGNER Elena has an extensive background in dance as a performer and teacher. Her costume designs can be seen in Ailey’s II repertoire, which includes Francesca Harper’s Sensory Feast, Troy Powell’s How Small a Thought, Nathan Trice’s Prayer in Discord, Jessica Lang’s Splendid Isolations II, Durrell Moultrie’s most recent work Aspects of a Vibe and Celestial Landscapes. Her designs for choreographer, Jessica Lang, can be seen in ABT II’s Veiled Ceiling and Colorado Ballet’s From Foreign Lands and People (2005) and De Profundis (2007). Her classical ballet designs include The Nutcracker, Coppelia, and Giselle for Connecticut Ballet. In addition, she has worked with choreographers such as Sean Curran, Igal Perry, Kevin Wynn, Scott Rink, Ronald K. Brown, Robert Battle, Max Luna, and Thaddeus Davis, among others. She is on the ballet faculty of both The Ailey School and the Dance Department at Marymount Manhattan College.
	HAYNES OWENS, SCHOOL BALLET MASTER began his dance training at the Montgomery Ballet studying with Elinor Sameth and Molly Brumby, and was one of the original company members of The Montgomery Civic Ballet. He received a full scholarship from American Ballet Center in New York, and was the recipient of the Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet. Mr. Owens went on to dance as an All Star Soloist at Joffrey Ballet in New York, dancing roles created by choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Frederick Ashton, Gerald Arpino, George Balanchine, Kurt Joss and Robert Joffrey. After touring the United States as a singer and dancer with Pro Musica Antigua in New York, Mr. Owens began teaching students in the Masters and Doctoral Programs at New York university. He later opened his own studio in New York, Haynes Owens Studio. Mr. Owens was also a guest faculty member of STEPS, Inc. in New York. Other teaching positions in the South include Auburn University, Alabama Dance theatre, and currently as School Ballet Master for The Montgomery Ballet.
	JAN ALEXANDER, MONTGOMERY BALLET SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR AND FINANCE MANAGER is originally from Murfreesboro, TN and is a graduate of St. Andrews High School. She moved to Birmingham in 1995 where she played soccer for Birmingham Southern College. She has been a resident of Montgomery since 1997 and came to the Ballet from a property management company where she worked in accounting for multiple commercial and multi-family accounts. She has over 12 years experience with accounting and management.
	KATY OLSEN, MARKETING DIRECTOR is from Pensacola, FL, where she danced with Kaleidoscope and Ballet Pensacola under the direction of Patsy Hill, Nannette Whidby-Grimm and Debbie Parish. She holds a BFA in Dance from the Ohio State University and a MFA in Theatre Management/Arts Administration from the University of Alabama. She was fomerly the Advertising Manager at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival here in Montgomery, as well as Administrative Assistant at the Arts Council of Northwest Florida, and modern dance teacher at Ballet Pensacola.